Monday, April 6, 2009

Jensen

So here I am, stressing out about something that is probably nothing. A few weeks ago we found some bumps/lumps on Jensen's head. Jensen, our six year old daughter, who is acting fine for the most part, had a few lumps on her head(around 4 or so). I phoned the clinic and took her in to our pediatrician feeling a little silly for doing so. Initially he thought they were something that had always been there. I assured him that while I am a busy mom, I do wash my child's hair on a regular basis, not to mention that we sometimes snuggle and I rub her back or the back of her head and I know that these lumps are fairly new. Not new enough though, that they are from bumping her head, which was his next thought. (Also wouldn't it be strange for her to have multiple bumps from trauma on her head. I would probably suspect abuse if someones child had numerous bumps on their head from trauma.) So then he decided that he didn't know what they were and he was going to have an x-ray done. We talked a little more and I asked him what the x-ray might show him. He then decided that maybe we would not expose her to radiation now and we would just wait and watch.

That worked for me for about a day.

Since then I have googled bumps, lumps, lesions, cysts, etc. and have found nothing that might explain these things on her head. I also discovered a few more, albeit smaller, ones last night.


-GROAN-


I have also palpated her lymph nodes of which a few are larger than normal. (Which I know is not uncommon in a 6 year old child.) And I have been reassessing her recent personality changes. She has been much more whiny and a little more tired than usual. I am the first to admit that these last things can be chalked up to my overactive imagination. That they could be a manifestation of a 'stage' (to my personal horror, that was always what my mother called it when I was an unreasonable child-not that I was EVER an unreasonable child) she might be going through. That she is a little more tired because she is in the midst of a growing spurt, etc.

I know having had Megan diagnosed with leukemia and subsequently in chemotherapy treatment for 2.5 years is part of what is fueling my paranoia. However, when a doctor tells me "I don't know what it is." I cannot help being frustrated. Knowing would allay my fears. When a trained professional doesn't know, how can that be a good thing? UHG!

So, there it is. My best hope, now that I have this off my chest, is that 2 weeks from now I will feel silly for actually putting this in writing.
Below are some photos of Jensen












2 comments:

Dewey and Liz said...

Chels, I don't know if this is what it is or not, but it sounds like swollen lymph nodes, even up on the head. They swell to help prevent infection, but if they don't go down within a few days or a week it could mean that the infection is too hard for her to fight on her own without antibiotics.... I hope they go away soon!

Michele said...

Thanks Liz, I actually have thought about that but she doesn't seem to be running fevers. I would have her back to the doctor in a heartbeat if she had fevers. Been there done that! :D I appreciate your comment, anything to help me figure this out so I can move on... I am going to mention it to Megan's oncologist tomorrow and see if he thinks I should have her seen again. I just want someone to tell me what they are and that they are harmless. Thanks again!